Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by USA Financial Formulas

USA Financial Formulas grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,302 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the quarter. USA Financial Formulas’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. One Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 11,346 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 2,937 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,015,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 41,924 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.9% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 26,212 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $348,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE VZ opened at $38.17 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.76. The company has a market cap of $160.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.10%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).